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Team Malizia wins final leg of the Ocean Race

YachtBoatNews28/06/2023

980 6 minutes read

Team Malizia wins final leg of the Ocean Race

What a Grand Finale! Team Malizia has won Leg 7 of The Ocean Race, grabbing a last-minute win in Genova.

The crew onboard Malizia – Seaexplorer sailed most of the final leg in third position but by choosing a route closer to shore, they managed to overtake both Team Holcim-PRB and Biotherm, and take the lead on Tuesday morning at 06:00 UTC.

Skipper Boris Herrmann, co-skippers Will Harris, Rosalin Kuiper, Nico Lunven, and onboard reporter Antoine Auriol were first to cross the finish line this Tuesday 27 June at 13:17:51 local time (11:17:51 UTC), having sailed 2,768.78 nautical miles from The Hague to Genova in 11 days, 19 hours, 02 minutes, and 51 seconds, and winning their second leg of The Ocean Race.

After 6 months of intense racing, 7 legs, 9 stopover cities, highs and lows, Team Malizia has finished their 37,201,95 nautical mile-long lap around the world with a bang! In true Malizian spirit, the team celebrated by jumping into the harbour, dancing to their Ocean Race anthem song “Don’t Stop Me Now” by Queen, and many hugs with their crew.

“There is nothing more sweet than winning”, said Boris Herrmann, moments after celebrating the achievement on stage with his entire team. “It changes everything. There were a couple of times in this race where we were so close, 4 minutes in Aarhus, just over 1 minute in The Hague… Therefore I think we earned this one, and it feels really good!”

“We are very, very happy”, commented co-skipper Nico Lunven from onboard Malizia – Seaexplorer, a few minutes before dock-in. “Winning the last leg of The Ocean Race is a fantastic achievement. It’s also a bit strange since we were not at all leading the leg, but last night we did a great move, leaving the pack and going more towards the coast, catching some land breeze, and then a sea breeze effect this morning.”

Malizia – Seaexplorer, winning IMOCA into Genova – The Ocean Race 2022-23 – photo © Sailing Energy / The Ocean Race

“Absolutely unbelievable”, said a very happy co-skipper Will Harris on the dock in Genova. “The fact that we managed to come back after ten days slightly behind the others is incredible. It came after a last-minute strategy call, we knew it was going to be very light wind into Genova, and everything was to play for, so we just went with what we thought was right, and it paid off! The British sailor, who has sailed all the legs in his first Ocean Race and has been the youngest skipper in the fleet when he took over the role for two legs added: “We couldn’t quite believe it, although it doesn’t move us up in the overall ranking, it’s going to be one I’ll remember forever, winning the final leg of The Ocean Race in a tactical move right at the end.”

“It’s mind-blowing that we spent over 100 days at sea and sailed around the world”, said co-skipper Rosalin Kuiper. “I’m very proud to be the only female sailor to have done all the legs of this race”, adds the Dutch sailor. “I realise that my body is tired, that I need a break now, but I’m happy I pushed myself, and I made it, we made it!”

Team Malizia has overcome big challenges during the race, such as replacing their broken foils only days before the start in Alicante, Boris Herrmann’s burnt foot, Rosalin Kuiper’s concussion and Nico Lunven’s injury, or the gruelling mast repair in the Southern Ocean. However, these challenges didn’t stop Team Malizia from delivering an incredible race with many highs and comebacks: From winning the very first In-Port race with their almost untested foils, to winning the Southern Ocean leg – the longest in The Ocean Race’s 50 year-history – to passing Cape Horn first, breaking the 24-hour distance record for a monohull, and now grabbing the final win in a nail-biting finish.

Leg 7 winners Team Malizia – The Ocean Race 2022-23 – photo © Ricardo Pinto / Team Malizia

All these moments were captured by onboard reporter Antoine Auriol and followed by millions worldwide. The French-German former kitesurf world champion also achieved something big considering he hadn’t spent many consecutive days at sea before the race: He is the only OBR to have sailed all the legs and delivered fantastic content all along the way, acclaimed by fans and media around the globe.

Team Malizia is third in the overall ranking of this edition of the race, achieving a podium finish on their rookie participation in the race. Besides navigator Nico Lunven, who took part in his third Ocean Race, and two shore team members who had worked in previous editions of the race, it was a first-time participation for every single member of the at times 40+ strong Malizia team.

“The team performed so well on many levels, I’m incredibly proud to work with this team”, added skipper Boris Herrmann. “On the boat, it was the perfect constellation of characters and personalities, believe it or not, we never had a single argument! Working together gave us so much energy and joy.” Nico Lunven echoed the feeling: “As a team, we always had a great vibe both onboard – when you come on watch and everyone has a big smile on their face, that is super important to me. And I felt the same from the shore team, and I think it was the key for that race for us.”

The German sailor has now completed his fifth circumnavigation: “There are some similarities with the previous ones, in the last days we were all quite emotional onboard about the end of this big adventure together, and I remember this feeling from the last laps around the world, not wanting to end. The Ocean Race was an amazing experience for us.”

In the final moments of Leg 7, Biotherm had also managed to overtake Team Holcim-PRB who had led most of the leg. The French team finished in second place, just over 1,5 hours behind Malizia. Team Holcim-PRB crossed the line in third position, with only three boats having competed in the leg following the collision between 11th Hour Racing Team and GUYOT environnement – Team Europe 17 minutes into the race, forcing both boats to return to harbour and retire from the leg.

Co-skipper Rosalin Kuiper and Nico Lunven as they arrived in Genova, Italy – The Ocean Race 2022-23 – photo © Ricardo Pinto / Team Malizia

The suspense regarding The Ocean Race winner is still on, as a redress hearing will be held on 29 June for 11th Hour Racing Team, which could influence the ranking and maybe give them the overall victory. The American boat is currently being delivered by the crew to Genova, trying to be there in time and compete in the final In-Port Race on Saturday 1 July with the other 3 boats of the fleet.

Until then, Team Malizia will welcome many partners, host a My Ocean Challenge kids event, and celebrate their accomplishment with their many fans that have travelled to Genova.

“The Ocean Race is more than just a race, that’s for everyone in the team, no matter what position in the team you work in…”, explains Boris Herrmann. It’s a big experience, and I think I really caught the bug, it gets into your blood, and you probably never get rid of it. Of course, the biggest low was the crack in the mast, but coming back from that, winning the Southern Ocean leg, that’s really the big lesson of The Ocean Race: Never surrender, never give up, there’s always something to fight for. And if you do, you’ll get rewarded.”

Team Malizia’s A Race We Must Win – Climate Action Now! mission is only possible due to the strong and long-lasting commitment from its seven main partners: Schütz, the Yacht Club de Monaco, EFG International, Zurich Group Germany, Kuehne+Nagel, MSC Mediterranean Shipping Company, and Hapag-Lloyd. These partners band behind Team Malizia to support its campaign, each of them working towards projects in their own field to innovate around climate solutions.